Senior Designer

Universal Music Canada is Canada’s leading music company, engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Home to the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMC is committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship in broadening opportunities for our artists on both the domestic and world stages as well as creating new experiences for fans.

Universal Music Canada is part of Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment.

We are searching for creative, innovative, and passionate people to fill a current vacancy on our team. If you love music and are excited about joining this amazing organization, we would love to meet you!

Senior Designer

The UMC team works in a hybrid, flexible environment with four days a week from our creative campus located in Liberty Village, Toronto and one day of work virtually.

Reporting to the Creative Director, the Senior Design would work on projects such as artist branding, album artwork, artist websites, merch, and more. The Senior Designer supports the strategic business and marketing plans using the creative process. The ideal candidate is a conceptually driven, culturally attuned senior designer with strong expertise across illustration, print and packaging, digital/web design, logo and brand identity, and photography direction, paired with a genuine passion for music and artist storytelling.

How You'll Lead:

• Lead the creative development and execution of artist visual identities across album campaigns, single releases, packaging, merchandise, advertising, digital, social, retail, and tour touchpoints.
• Design and art direct CD, vinyl, box set, and specialty packaging projects from concept through final production, ensuring high-quality creative, accurate files, and alignment with print specifications.
• Own the development of compelling visual concepts for domestic and international artist campaigns, translating marketing objectives into distinctive, culturally relevant creative.
• Lead design for merchandise collections for retail, direct-to-consumer, VIP, and touring artists, balancing creative expression, fan appeal, production feasibility, and commercial goals.
• Act as a senior creative partner to artists, managers, marketing teams, , A&R teams, and external partners, presenting concepts clearly and confidently.
• Develop and evolve artist brand systems, campaign toolkits, visual guidelines, templates, and asset libraries that can scale across print, digital, social, video, retail, and experiential channels.
• Provide creative direction for photoshoots, album artwork, press imagery, retouching, typography, illustration, motion concepts, and supporting visual assets.
• Collaborate with photographers, illustrators, motion designers, production vendors, printers, merch suppliers, freelancers, agencies, and internal teams to deliver polished creative on time and on brand.
• Guide projects from brief to final delivery, including concepting, design development, stakeholder reviews, revisions, prepress, quality control, and final asset handoff.
• Balance multiple high-priority artist campaigns and competing deadlines while maintaining strong creative standards, attention to detail, and calm, solutions-focused communication.
• Mentor junior designers, freelancers, and production partners by providing constructive feedback, design guidance, and support in raising the overall quality of creative output.
• Stay ahead of music, fashion, design, social, digital, fan culture, and pop-culture trends, bringing fresh visual thinking into campaigns while respecting each artist’s unique identity.
• Champion craft, consistency, accessibility, and brand integrity across all creative deliverables.

What You Bring:

• 6+ years of professional graphic design, visual design, brand design, or art direction experience; experience in music, entertainment, fashion, culture, agency, or consumer brands is strongly preferred.
• A diploma or degree in graphic design, visual communication, art direction, or a related discipline.
• A strong portfolio that demonstrates senior-level design thinking, visual storytelling, typography, layout, branding, campaign systems, print production, digital design, and concept development.
• Expert-level proficiency on Mac OS and Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat.
• Deep understanding of print production, packaging, prepress, colour management, file preparation, vendor specifications, dielines, formats, and asset delivery protocols.
• Strong digital design experience across websites, social platforms, paid media, email, motion/social assets, and campaign toolkits.
• Illustration, image-making, retouching, motion design, video editing, photography direction, or 3D skills are strong assets.
• Experience presenting creative work to internal teams, artists, artist management, senior stakeholders, and external partners.
• Strong ability to interpret creative briefs, challenge assumptions, propose strategic visual solutions, and connect design decisions to campaign goals.
• Excellent organizational skills, with proven ability to manage multiple complex projects, timelines, approvals, revisions, and final deliverables with minimal supervision.
• Highly developed attention to detail, accuracy, and quality control, especially across print, packaging, merchandise, and campaign production.
• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback, mentoring other designers, and contributing to a collaborative, ambitious creative culture.
• A self-starter with strong initiative, sound judgment, and the ability to move work forward independently while knowing when to bring others in.
• Passionate about music culture across genres, fan communities, pop culture, social culture, fashion, visual trends, and the evolving ways audiences discover and connect with artists.
• Bold, ambitious, and conceptually strong, with an entrepreneurial mindset, a growth mindset, and the ability to bring original thinking to fast-moving creative challenges.
• Excellent communication skills grounded in honesty, clarity, approachability, curiosity, and an open mind.
• Positivity, passion, strong creative opinions, and the ability to articulate and defend design decisions while remaining flexible and collaborative.
• Must provide a digital portfolio that showcases a wide range of senior-level creative work, including brand systems, campaign thinking, production-ready execution, and cross-platform design.

What We Offer:

• Competitive Compensation Package includes, benefits, Pension Plan, Savings Plan with company matching
• 2-week paid Winter Break
• Summer Fridays
• Medical, Dental, Vision and Mental Health Support
• Employee Ticket Box
• Wellness Program

This job description only provides an overview of job responsibilities that are subject to change.

Universal Music Canada is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and strongly welcomes and encourages applications from Indigenous Peoples, people of colour, women, persons with disabilities, people who are 2SLGBTQIA+, and people from other diverse communities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Salary Range:

$70,000 - $80,000

The actual base salary offered depends on a variety of factors, which may include, as applicable, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.

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